FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

<updated June 28, 2021>

I’ve been unsuccessful with the following:

• D. Spatulata Fraser Island, (seeds dated 10/27/18) planted 1/30/21

Just curious if anyone else has gotten those particular ones to grow.


As an aside, I have had luck and been able to germinate the following:

• D. Filiformis v. Floridana white flower, (seeds dated 9/2020), planted 1/30/21
• D. Burmannii Humpty Doo, planted 1/30/21
• D. Spatulata, (seeds dated 7/2017)
• D. Finlaysoniana, (seeds dated 7/2017)
• D. Intermedia, (seeds dated 2019)
• D. Sessifolia, (seeds dated 1/1/2018)
• D. Capillaris Eatonville, FL, (seeds dated 1/2021)
• D. Capensis narrow leaf, (seeds dated 8/21/2018)
• D. Spatulata, ChefDean’s bulk

I got some of the humpty doo and got 2 germination. I don't have the seed packet for the Fraser island but I believe it was the same because there was another packet I got that I spoke with ChefDean about with the same year that I got around the same time. That one netted 8 germination.

I wouldn't be the one to speak about Burmannii though, I have the worst luck with it. For some strange reason I got 2 plants per batch from 3 different packs. People recommend decent heat, LFS and high humidity. I did get some easier (faster) germination on "perlata" by putting it over a heat mat. I think I soaked those in GA3 though so that could've killed some

Humpty Doo took over a few months to give me those two plants so it's possible they're still good.

I believe filiformis needs stratifying. Although with my first filiformis seeds last fall I did stratify and got nothing and not sure what I did wrong. I wonder with burmannii if it isn't high temps that help it germinate. If you have a heat mat you could try bumping it up to 90F, or if all else fails put it outside as the weather warms up.

I got the "D. Burmannii Humpty Doo" when it was the bonus last year, it did well.

I've actually done the Humpty Doo twice. The first time it was too cold outside, so I did it on a windowsill, and it failed. Not enough light? Too cold in close proximity to the glass? I don't know.
The second time I started them outside in late Spring and got a carpet of them. They all stayed small until they caught a tiny bug, then they grew. The more they fed, the faster they grew. I didn't use any fertilizer, just let them catch their own bugs.

@sundewd makes a good point. I had a filiformis set seed all season last year and I've been seeing the sprouts coming out of the woodwork now that its heating up.

Supercazzola wrote: ↑Fri Apr 02, 2021 12:17 am As an aside, I have had luck and been able to germinate the following:

• D. Spatulata, (seeds dated 7/2017)
• D. Finlaysoniana, (seeds dated 7/2017)
• D. Intermedia, (seeds dated 2019)
• D. Sessifolia, (seeds dated 1/1/2018)
• D. Capillaris Eatonville, FL
• D. Capensis narrow leaf, (seeds dated 8/21/2018)
• D. Spatulata, ChefDean’s bulk[/color]

FYI, Unless Chef had a secret stash hidden away somewhere, those Capi Eatonville were mine. If so, they were harvested Jan/Feb 2021. So really fresh.

evenwind wrote: FYI, Unless Chef had a secret stash hidden away somewhere, those Capi Eatonville were mine. If so, they were harvested Jan/Feb 2021. So really fresh.

Thanks, updated the post. Yep, they sprouted amazingly quickly.

evenwind wrote: ↑Fri Apr 02, 2021 3:52 amFYI, Unless Chef had a secret stash hidden away somewhere, those Capi Eatonville were mine. If so, they were harvested Jan/Feb 2021. So really fresh.

No secret stash. I occasionally "test" out seeds, especially new ones that come in, but I didn't have room for these. He volunteered to be my Guinea pig, citing a personal connection to Eatonville, so I sent him a couple dozen seeds on the condition that he donate some seeds back if he gets any.

sundewd wrote:I believe filiformis needs stratifying. Although with my first filiformis seeds last fall I did stratify and got nothing and not sure what I did wrong.

The specific seeds he got, filiformis var Floridana, shouldn't have needed stratification being adapted to a subtropical climate. However, seeds generally have a different genotype than their parents, so it's possible that there's a generation here and there that reverts to needing some form of strat. Maybe they still need to experience a cool period rather than a cold period.

Apollyon wrote: ↑Fri Apr 02, 2021 12:50 am I wouldn't be the one to speak about Burmannii though, I have the worst luck with it. For some strange reason I got 2 plants per batch from 3 different packs. People recommend decent heat, LFS and high humidity. I did get some easier (faster) germination on "perlata" by putting it over a heat mat.

I've also had much better results from the Burmanii "Perlata" than other Burmanii types. But it wasn't just Seedbank seeds - I've tried Burmanii from other sources and still had dismal germination percentages. I guess I'm doing it wrong, but the Perlata seem to be much more willing to grow in my conditions.

burmannii is weird because when I originally got burmannii Humpty Doo a few years ago I only got 2 plants out of 30-50 seeds. However, once established it is possible for it to form dense carpets if left unattended and it's really the number one weed in my carnivorous plant collection. It does this both inside and outside. I had thought those burmannii seeds I originally got must have been really old. But now I'm getting reports back from some people I've distributed my seeds to who also say they have really bad or even no germination, while I continue to find burmannii weeds all over the place, and now and then pull out one of the packets and germinate a full cup of seedlings. It's possible there is a steep viability dropoff such that they'll germinate in basically any conditions for a little bit but as time goes on they quickly need more ... of something, and I'm thinking that's heat, but I'll try to keep experimenting with them.

I didn't realize that Florida filiformis doesn't require stratification but that makes sense. The ones I didn't have luck germinating were in fact fili. Floridana as well so I wonder if it isn't something similar and they need more heat to germinate so I'll put those outside now too! Actually I have a few things I'll try putting outside that haven't germinated all winter.

How's this for a completely unproven hypothesis? Burmanii, being an annual, needs to have successful germination every year to survive. Maybe the seeds themselves are designed to need different environments - most for the mother plant's current environment but some looking for cooler temps, others for warmer, some for greater humidity some for less, etc.. That would explain the germination of the first generation - only those few seeds suited to the new conditions would grow. The second generation, plants now suited to the new environment, would again produce seeds mainly suited to the (new) environment (causing the carpet of seedlings) while this time it's the outliers that won't germinate.

I've wondered about that too. It's an interesting idea, but I wonder if it isn't too complicated when there could be some simpler explanation like hardening of the seed coat leading to some variable becoming more important. It would be cool to test but a lot of work.

I just checked and saw this, here's some D. burmannii Humpty Doo seeds I sowed from the same batch I donated to the seed bank a couple months ago. This is what I typically see.

Anyone have any luck with the bonus nep seeds? Mine haven't done much, I'm thinking maybe the cold during the mid-winter shipping might have knocked them out. I have some of the humpty doo ones potted up recently too so I'll keep an eye on those. My grow area has been a bit cold though.

The D. Spatulata "Pink Okinawa" has sprouted for me so those seem pretty viable.